We were in attendance for this year’s Concours d’ Elegance in Scarsdale, NY. This show is one of my favorites because the venue and time of year are just perfect for this sort of event. The Fall air is a bit crisp, the trees are turning all sorts of beautiful colors, the town is quite nice, and the cars are incredible. This is an overview gallery of the event, and certain cars will get their own features later on. Enjoy.
Drive/Jalopnik’s Mike Spinelli takes us up close with the new Mclaren MP4-12C Spider in Spain. Lots to learn here about this fascinating car and company.
-Nick
Jaguar’s been one of the few companies in the past couple of years that hasn’t made a huge mistake with the models they sell. Yes, their product line isn’t as diverse as the competition, but what they have invested in is paying dividends, and the new F-Type is proof that their current focus is one I’m going to keep a close eye on in the near future. From the styling to the engine options revealed recently, I’m unashamed to say that I love this car even before I’ve seen it in the flesh.
Continue reading The Jaguar F-Type–Keeping Calm and Carrying On.
A very well edited Mclaren video from Brazil
-Nick
We were in attendance for the Lime Rock Historic Festival earlier this month. It was actually my first time at Lime Rock, despite having lived in the Northeast US for my entire life. It is a fantastic facility with great views of the track all around. I have loads of photos from the weekend, but here are a few varied shots from around the paddock. More to come. Continue reading 2012 Lime Rock Historic Festival: Some shots from the paddock
Mclaren released their one off X1 at the Quail motorsports gathering in Monterey this past weekend. It is the culmination of “3 years of hard work” they said, and I have to ask for what? I find the X1 unappealing; it looks like its design is trying to hard to be extreme, and real supercar beauty usually comes from function and purity of design. There is also the obvious influence of elegant 1930’s French cars, and that sort of Cruella de Vil look does not work well on a supercar. The covered rear wheels take the car’s aggressive stance away as well, leaving us with an appearance that is just plain awkward. On top of this, that 3 years of work has only gotten the customer a normal 12C with an ugly body kit, so again I have to ask, why?
Looking at all the supercar news sources I can see the usual amount of oogling over this car. Most people only like this car, and cars like it, because they are rare, expensive, or just stigmatized as a “supercar”. That, to me, is mindless dribble. I will give credit where credit is due (like the Ferrari P4/5), but I am at a personal point now where I don’t care at all about a car being a status symbol. It must have its own legitimate merits to get my good graces, and this Mclaren falls way short. I saw a normal 12C go by tonight, and it looked brilliant. So why bother making this ugly thing if not only to use as another soulless status symbol by someone with far more money than self security?
Different is not always a good thing, and I could care less if the owner locks the X1 away for eternity. In fact, I kind of hope he or she does.
-Nick Walker
A great piece by Alex Roy and the good folks at Drive. Check it out.
-Nick
This is a great video showcasing two of the best roadsters in history. The Elan was the inspiration for the MX5 in a different era, and both cars have lessons to teach other carmakers today. This is pure driving and pure fun, the hell with 0-60 times and 1/4 mile runs. I can only hope that one day I get to drive a Lotus Elan like this, it is pretty high up there on my list. Enjoy the vid.
-Nick
It has been a long time in the works but we are pleased to announce the official addition of my long time friend, Dan Valanzola, to the Mind Over Motor team. Dan takes beautiful pictures, and his work has been featured on the site a few times in the past. With this new category we will be featuring Dan’s work specifically, starting with this gallery of a Lotus Europa racing car at Thomas Walko Racing in NJ. We met some of the TWR guys at a recent event and they were very cool, inviting us to come see their shop and maybe attend some events. Dan went to the shop and captured their Europa that we had heard so much about from the guys. It has some of the widest fender flares I have ever seen, really menacing on a car so small. Looking forward to more in the future for sure. Enjoy the pics.
-Nick
Ultimas can be as insane as the owner wants them to be, and this guy is clearly bound for a straight jacket. Awesome car.
-Nick
That is a silly title, I know, but it does beg the question as to why I would put those three specific cars together at all? The answer lies in how they all have a similar reason for their existence, to be a number. Each was meant to achieve some specific measure of performance that would define the car to the world. While all three have been successful in achieving their tangible goals they have all wound up becoming relics of a more regimented and boring existence. They all cater to an increasingly soulless and superficial world where people judge everything from a bunch of numbers on sheet of paper or a computer screen, and not so much from actual experiences. Continue reading A Prius, a Veyron, and an MP4-12C walk into a bar…
On January 3rd, all the sales results for each major car brand sold in the United States were made public for the month of December, and consequently, the entire previous year. For the most part, 2011 was an excellent year for sales in the auto industry, a big step in the right direction since the turmoil of 2009. There were of course, some nasty issues that clearly affected sales across the board, but this year, only a select few CEOs should really need a drink today. So, let’s take a look at these numbers and see what falls out of the tree. Continue reading Some thoughts on the past year’s sales.
Mind Over Motor 